Edith E. "Edie" Hoelle, who as librarian for the Gloucester County Historical Society for 38 years was unmatched in her knowledge of local history, died Saturday at Pitman Manor, where she resided for 11 years.

A former resident of Woodbury and Westville, Edie was 88. She was librarian from 1963 until she retired in 2001, serving first as an unpaid volunteer.

"She respected the county's records as though they were her own," says Jim Hogan, county clerk. "She made me feel comfortable and was a very valued person to us."

The library became the official repository for county documents in the 1970s and is still used by the county to house some records.

"She could talk to you about things that happened long ago in Gloucester County and it was as though she'd been there," says Barbara Price, who replaced Edie as librarian and considers her a mentor.

"I can't remember how many times I made calls to Edie for information, and how many times she either knew the answers or could put her hands on the information almost instantly," says Jim Six, South Jersey Times columnist and web editor.

"She was always ready to help us, even keeping the library open after closing time so I could run over and get something we needed."

Six recalls an incident that addresses Edie's knowledge.

"The Paulsboro police called — they'd found a small headstone, from a baby's grave, propping open a door in a drug house when they staged a raid," Six says. "The cops wondered if I might write a story about it, and see if anybody could figure out where the headstone belonged.

"I ran over to the historical society library and told Edith what I was looking for. She pointed me to the cemetery census lists. It looked daunting, but, before I could go through one, she'd found it.

"The baby was buried with or near his mother in the cemetery of a church. Before I even got to the police station, we knew where the stone belonged, thanks to Edie."

Says Barbara Price, "She gave me a wonderful opportunity. Edie put this place on the map and spearheaded expansion of the library. She did a phenomenal job of expanding our collection.

"People still come in and say they were last here 20 or 30 years ago and were helped by her. And it wasn't that long ago, when she was in Pitman Manor, that I called her with a question. I did that many times."

To underscore her love for history, Edie wrote "The Vignettes of Historic Woodbury."

Visitation is Friday 2 to 4 p.m. at Pitman Manor and 6 p.m. until a 7 p.m. memorial service at the Sewell Baptist Church, where she was a member.